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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22765192">Not Like Them</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firewhisperer13/pseuds/Firewhisperer13'>Firewhisperer13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon Series [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, I promise the rest of the series is better just stick with it, I wrote this when I was 15 I'm sorry in advance, Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2015-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:28:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22765192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firewhisperer13/pseuds/Firewhisperer13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Reign was dropped onto the island of Berk when she was seven. At first, no one really knew her, but now, she's working with the dragon hunters and is the most popular among them. Everything was great... until she met Hiccup. He showed her another side of life. One that didn't involve killing dragons. Now, Reign's become torn between two worlds.<br/>All rights reserved, DreamWorks animation, 2010</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Astrid Hofferson/Original Female Character(s), Fishlegs Ingerman/Original Female Character(s), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Original Female Character(s), Ruffnut Thorston/Original Character(s), Snotlout Jorgenson/Original Female Character(s), Tuffnut Thorston/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon Series [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue (8 Years Earlier)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>       “Look mom!” I cried. “Look at all the fireflies!”</p><p>        My mother turned to look at me, her short red hair floating around her. She laughed as a blinking bug landed right on her nose. I extended my small, chubby arms outward and turned my palms so that they faced skyward. I stood still for a long time, and finally, a small firefly landed in my right palm. I quickly snapped that hand shut, thinking that was how you caught them, then felt a warm liquid spread throughout the darkened space.</p><p><em>        Oh no… </em>I thought.</p><p>        When I opened my hand again, I was greeted with the sight of green, red, and black fluids sliding down my arm. My nose began to sting and, eyes welling with tears, I bawled at the top of my lungs. My mother noticed my distress and rushed over to me, pulling me into her arms.</p><p>        “Shh, baby girl,” she cooed into my ear. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>        I sniffed and moved my hand closer to her eyes.</p><p>        “I-I killed it, mommy!” I wailed, tears falling faster and faster each second.</p><p>        She grimaced as I sobbed out the word ‘killed,’ then took my clean, innocent hand in her’s.</p><p>        “Shh…” Her tone was soft and loving. “It’s alright. Look, there are so many others.”</p><p>        I still sobbed, feeling no more reassured than five seconds ago. The tears came even faster when a loud, deep horn sounded. It was the sign that they were coming. My mother tightened her grasp and whispered in my ear. She only said two words, but they were as terrifying as what was above me.</p><p>        “Run.”</p><p>        With that, she released her grip and ran to the sound of beating wings above us. I stood there, shocked that she had abandoned me, for a brief moment, then I slowly turned and ran in the opposite direction. My footfalls were fast and loud, matching my heartbeat. Terror flooded through me as the world was swallowed up in fire and cries of the innocent. I sprinted faster and faster with each passing second.</p><p>
  <em>        If I stop moving, I’ll die.</em>
</p><p>        That phrase was both a motive and a threat. A million wings beat above me, sharp talons hanging from their hideous, fattened figures. I stopped and ducked behind a tree. Though wood was about as flammable as it gets, I needed a place to stop and rest.</p><p>        After all, my young lungs could only take so much.</p><p>        The burning, disgusting, sharp sulfur crawled into my nose and stabbed at it, causing blood to rush from my nostrils and my eyes to water. I coughed, once, and everything went downhill. There was a loud, screeching cry, and then the tree caught fire, along with the back of my shirt. I screamed as the tree fell and claws gripped my shoulders, carrying me off into the night sky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Reign, get up!"<br/>
       I rolled over in the stack of hay I slept on, ignoring the familiar voice and the poking of the pieces of straw.<br/>
       "Five more minutes," I groaned.<br/>
       "C'mon. It's important!"<br/>
       I still didn't move, a little oblivious to the cries around me.<br/>
       "Alright, if you won't get up on your own..."<br/>
       I heard a shuffling noise, and then a great amount of pressure on my stomach. My eyes shot open and cried out.<br/>
       "Aah! Astrid get off!" I laughed.<br/>
       I opened my eyes and saw a blue eyed, blonde haired girl looking down at me.<br/>
       "Now will you get up and help me fight these dragons?" She asked, standing up.<br/>
       I sighed and stood, golden hay lacing through my red hair.<br/>
       “Fine, but only if it is necessary to my everyday life,” I joked.<br/>
       I shook my head to the hay would flutter to the ground, grabbed my bow and arrow, and sprinted out of the barn doors. Terrifying dragons floated through the air, blasting their fire all over the place.<br/>
       It had been four years since one of those flying devils had kidnapped me from my home and dropped me on Berk. I’d been found on the shore by Astrid, whose family took me in. It was quickly discovered that I was pretty good with a bow and arrow, so I became a dragon hunter. It wasn't too hard to fend them off, but every now and then there'd be a huge swarm and it wouldn't particularly end well. Mostly because some kid named Hiccup kept attempting to capture one dragon. <br/>
       Of course, I had no idea who he was, and I'd lived here for four years.<br/>
       There was a blast of blue and yellow fire, followed by a hideous cry.<br/>
       "Oh no," I whispered, becoming scared very fast.<br/>
       I looked up into the sky, but saw nothing, just the stars, burning forever in their place around Earth. I was just about to shrug it off and move on, when another shot of blue fire landed about a foot in front of me.<br/>
       "There’s a Night Fury!" Someone cried as I raced off. I groped around at the quiver behind me, attempting to find more arrows, but to no avail. Astrid caught up and began running beside me.<br/>
       "What... are... you... doing?" She huffed between ragged breaths.<br/>
       "Getting to Gobber's," I replied. “I have to restock on arrows.”<br/>
       Astrid shrugged and ran off towards a burning house. I sprinted faster as Gobber's hut came into view, pushing away memories of four years ago. My hand slapped against the door and it banged open. Gobber turned around, shocked, and a lanky boy with brown hair looked up. I cringed as something fell from his wall to the floor. Gobber shook his head and turned back to the boy holding a pair of large brown bellows.<br/>
       "They need me out there," he explained. "You stay-"<br/>
       He slapped his hands onto the boy's shoulders.<br/>
       "-here."<br/>
       Gobber snatched up the ax attachment for his fake hand and dashed out of the door.<br/>
       "Wait! I need-"<br/>
       The door slammed shut behind him.<br/>
       "-more arrows..."<br/>
       I turned to see the boy looking right at me. I shook my head and walked over to Gobber's spare wood pile.<br/>
       I'll just have to make more myself.<br/>
       I pulled a small knife from a loop on my leather belt and began carving the splintered wood. Shavings flew out as I moved the knife against the oaken plank.<br/>
       "You're actually not half bad at that."<br/>
       I turned sharply to see the boy looking at my once carving hands. I raised an eyebrow, skeptical.<br/>
       "Uh, thank you?" I turned back to carving. "So, um, what's your name?"<br/>
       There was a short pause, and then he spoke.<br/>
       "I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Who might you be?"<br/>
       <em>Hiccup!</em> I thought. <em>So </em>that’s <em>him.</em><br/>
       I composed myself.<br/>
       "I'm Reign," I replied as icily as the weather on our island.<br/>
       He shot his head up and looked at me.<br/>
       "You're her..." he breathed.<br/>
       "Uh, I'm who?"<br/>
       “You’re Reign, the girl who was dropped here by a dragon four years ago."<br/>
       I blinked, shocked he knew about me at all.<br/>
       Another Night Fury cry echoed outside and Hiccup snatched up the thing he'd been working on. He scrambled out the door and I followed him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Whoa!" I caught up to him. "You heard Gobber! You're not supposed to leave!"<br/>       He rolled his forest green eyes; almost the same color as mine.<br/>       "Yeah, but I need positive attention."<br/>       "What do you mean?" I asked, confused.<br/>       We reached a secluded cliff and he set down his contraption. It was a sort of catapult looking thing, but rather than a boulder loaded to fire, there was a net.<br/>       "Well, there are five types of dragons-"<br/>       "Yeah, I know that. I'm a dragon hunter," I huffed, blowing a few strands of hair out of my line of vision.<br/>       "Sorry, I forgot about that for a moment. Well, each type of dragon brings their own type of attention. A Deadly Nadder is sure to get me at least noticed. Gronkles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend. A Zippleback is exotic and exciting. Two heads, twice the status. And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best of Vikings go after these. But I really want to catch the ultimate prize: the Night Fury," he lengthily explained.<br/>       “A Gronkle would get you a girlfriend, huh?” I teased once he had finished. "And who might this girl be?"<br/>       He sighed and his cheeks turned red as he aimed the contraption.<br/>       "A-Astrid," he choked out.<br/>       It was my turn to sigh.<br/>       "C'mon, Hiccup. <em>Every guy</em> wants Astrid. You should try to be different."<br/>       "But she's so... amazing!"<br/>       I ruffled some of my shaggy, pixie-cut hair, frustrated. I didn't have time to retort, however, because a few seconds later, there was a snapping sound and an agonized cry came from the endless dark sky, followed by a lot of crashing.<br/>       "Yes!" Hiccup cheered. "I did it! Did anyone else see that?"<br/>       I froze as a hideous dragon snaked up the cliff. I felt around for my bow and arrows, then remembered that I'd left them back at Gobber's. Hiccup noticed my movements and turned around. His joy quickly melted into fear as the dragon stood over him.<br/>       "Anyone but you," he muttered, afraid.<br/>       “Hiccup, come on, run!” I cried as the Monstrous Nightmare roared. He didn't even think twice before running off in front of me.<br/>       "Oh, thanks for waiting!" I called sarcastically, dashing after him.<br/>       "Sorry!" He yelled back.<br/>       What he said next was drowned out by the explosion of fire landing behind me. My heart was practically beating out of my chest, my lungs burning. The sulfur and ashes mixed into the air caused me to start coughing.  I could hear Hiccup doing the same.<br/>       "Watch out!" I cried as a fireball struck the pole to Hiccup's right. It crashed loudly to the ground, but it still didn't match the creature's screams. The pole rolled across the ground and fell into the ocean, extinguishing the fire that was eating away at it.  <br/>       I ducked behind another pole and held in my coughing, hoping the dragon wouldn't notice where I had gone. I was just about to peek my head around the corner when fire struck the pole, causing me to jump forward. The dragon crawled towards me, eyes locked onto mine.<br/>       <em>This is the end...</em> I thought, afraid. I backed up against a wall and shut my eyes, preparing for the fiery impact, when I heard a deepened yell and agonized screeching. I opened my eyes to see a large, muscular figure wrestling with the Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup appeared beside me and groaned just as the man came over, dragon flying away. I was taken aback as his face came into view.<br/>       "Ch- Chief Stoick," I stuttered, getting onto one knee to bow. Chief Stoick placed his hands on my shoulders and I stood. "I'm so sorry about the mess. I-"<br/>       He cut me off by holding up his calloused hand. I slammed my mouth shut, crashing my teeth together like the waves against the sand.<br/>       "No need to apologize, dearie. I'm sure this was far from your fault."<br/>       He turned to face Hiccup and his kind look hardened.<br/>       "It does, however, seem to be your fault, as always."<br/>       Hiccup sighed beside me.<br/>       "I'm sorry, dad."<br/>       My eyes widened at what I'd just heard.<br/>       "Wait, he's your father?"<br/>       Hiccup once again sighed.<br/>       "Yeah, it's a bit embarrassing." His voice was quiet. He then looked at his dad and changed the topic. "Okay, but I caught a Night Fury."<br/>       Stoick responded by grabbing Hiccup by the back of his vest and dragging him like a puppy that had ran away from its mother, while Hiccup looked just as guilty. I followed, thinking Hiccup might need help.<br/>       "It's not like the last few times, dad. I mean, I actually hit it. You guys were busy, and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point."<br/>       "It's true, Chief," I vouched. "I saw it- well, I heard it."<br/>       "That's enough, Reign," he sighed. He then turned to Hiccup.<br/>       "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can't you see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here, and I have an entire village to feed."<br/>       Hiccup looked around and then got closer to his dad.<br/>       "Between you and me, I think the village could use a little less feed, don't you think?" He whispered. I stifled my laughter as a few more rotund Vikings stirred self-consciously.<br/>       "This isn't a joke, Hiccup!" His father shot back. "Why can't you follow orders?"<br/>       "I can't stop myself! I see a dragon and I just have to... kill it, you know?"<br/>       Upon that note, I walked away, not seeing myself as necessary. As I left, I passed by the others. Snotlout and Fishlegs offered me a supportive smile. Ruffnut and Tuffnut snickered, and Astrid followed behind me.<br/>       “Are you alright?” She asked.<br/>       "Yeah, I'm fine," I sighed.<br/>       "Sure?"<br/>       “Yes, I’m sure, Astrid.”<br/>        I didn’t meet eyes with Hiccup as he passed by, but I could feel his gaze on me, pleading and wanting help.<br/>        Why did I just stand there?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I'm not quite sure why, but for some reason, I just couldn't face Hiccup. Maybe I felt guilty for some reason. I decided not to worry about it, though. As soon as he and Stoick passed by, I walked over to my friends. Snotlout and Fishlegs were talking about something, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hitting each other on their heads, and Astrid was beside me. We rejoined the others and I began talking to her. I was hoping Astrid could be the good friend she always had been and help take my mind off everything.<br/>       "So that's Hiccup, huh?" I asked once Astrid and I stopped walking.<br/>       She laughed and the others came closer. The sun was just starting to come up, giving the air around us a peaceful feel to it. The sky was grey, but it was calm and sweet, like the sea on a good day.<br/>       "Yeah, that's him," she responded. "I'd stay away from him if I were you. Chief Stoick wasn't kidding about that whole disaster thing. He messes everything up."<br/>       "Don't worry, babe," Snotlout flirted, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'll protect you from him."<br/>       I jerked away and punched him in the gut, hoping he'd stay away. However, all he did was grunt and then fire back.<br/>       "I love it when you play hard to get."<br/>       I rolled my eyes and walked over to Fishlegs, who was fiddling with his clothes.<br/>       "So, Fishlegs, did you see any new dragons?"<br/>       He shook his head, disappointed. Fishlegs had always been interested in dragon types and their history. I'd been quite fascinated with this myself, which is why we'd become such good friends. After all, I'd never liked hunting dragons. Sure, one of them did take me from my island, but there were times when I saw another side to dragons. A kinder side that showed they were afraid.<br/>       I looked over to see lights coming from the Great Hall; a sign that there was a meeting there. I decided I should go and stand up for Hiccup, He didn't seem like a bad kid, and I figured that I could at least do him a little justice. I turned to walk to the Great Hall when the others started calling to me.<br/>       "Reign, shouldn’t we be heading back home? Where are you going?" Astrid asked.<br/>       "I'm going to talk to Chief Stoick. There's something I need to discuss with him. I promise I'll be back later."<br/>       I didn't stick around to hear her response. I was hoping that I could soften Stoick's heart towards Hiccup.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was surprised no one heard me enter. The oaken door was fairly large, and the hinges squeaked, as if screaming for oil. I guess the men and women were too busy talking and shouting to notice. I hung back by the door and listened, not wanting to interrupt.<br/>        "Alright, anyone who doesn't want to come with me had to stay behind and look after Hiccup," Stoick offered.<br/>        Immediately, hands went up and people eagerly volunteered to go... somewhere.<br/>        "Ooh, burn," I whispered to myself, suddenly feeling sorry for Hiccup.<br/>        People began to disband and I quickly flattened myself against the wall, hoping to hide in the shadows. Luckily, my black armor and dark brown clothes helped me with this task. I had never been more grateful for my love of dark clothes in my life. Soon, everyone except Stoick and Gobber had left. I was about to step forward when Gobber spoke up.<br/>       "I'll pack my undies."<br/>       I placed a hand over my lips, trying not to laugh. I didn't want myself to be heard yet.<br/>       "No," Chief Stoick replied. "I need you to stay and train some new recruits."<br/>       <em>Wait, why are there going to be new recruits?</em> I thought. <em>Who could possibly be replacing us? Unless... he means us! </em>My spirits brightened.<br/>       "Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself... what could possibly go wrong?" Gobber ranted.<br/>       Chief Stoick sighed and plopped down onto the bench, beside Gobber.<br/>       "What am I going to do with him, Gobber?"<br/>       "Put him in training with the others," Gobber suggested.<br/>       "No, I'm serious." Stoick clearly thought that was a joke.<br/>       On the bright side, I thought to myself, now I know we're the ones going into training.<br/>       My excitement continued to grow, but I had to keep my cool.<br/>       "So am I," Gobber replied.<br/>       "He'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage."<br/>       <em>So, we're going to be killing dragons? Wonderful! While you're at it, why don't you give us all paper cuts and pour lemon juice into the wounds?</em> I had to restrain myself from saying that one out loud.<br/>       "Oh, you don't know that."<br/>       "I do know that, actually."<br/>       "No, you don't."<br/>       "No, I actually do."<br/>       "No, you don't!"<br/>       "Listen! You know what he's like," Chief Stoick began. "From the time he could crawl he's been... different. He doesn't listen."<br/>       <em>Last time I checked, different was a good thing.</em><br/>       "He has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for... for trolls."<br/>       "Trolls exist!" Gobber defended. "They steal your socks, but only the left ones. What's up with that?" I snickered, hand over my mouth and nose.<br/>       "When I was a boy..."<br/>       "Oh, here we go," Gobber grumbled.<br/>       "...my father told me to bang my head against a rock, and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"<br/>       "You got a headache?"<br/>       "That rock split in two." Stoick ignored Gobber's comment. "It taught me what a Viking could do, Gobber. He could crush mountains, level forests, and tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become." He sighed. "Hiccup is not that boy."<br/>       I rolled my eyes, annoyed with the Chief's stubbornness, and decided that now was a good time to enter. I emerged from the shadows and cleared my throat. Gobber and the chief looked up, shocked at my presence.<br/>       "Uh, Reign," Chief Stoick stuttered. "How long have you been standing there?"<br/>       "Oh, not very long," I lied.<br/>       Gobber and Stoick glanced at each other, skeptically, but I didn't give them a chance to speak.<br/>       "Sir, I just wanted to apologize for earlier."<br/>       "Reign, dearie, it's not your fault, How many times do I have to tell you that?"<br/>       "It actually is partially my fault. See, during the fight, I went to Gobber's stand because I needed more arrows, but he left before I could ask him for some more."<br/>       I ignored Stoick's annoyed glance at Gobber, who shrugged, and kept talking.<br/>       "I decided to make some on my own. Your son happened to be there at the same time, we started talking, and the next thing I knew, we were dashing out the door and he was trying to shoot down a dragon. I should have stopped him, but I didn't. I'm sorry."<br/>       I didn't give them time to respond. I just got up, walked out, and went to sleep in the Hofferson’s barn.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke up the next morning with a sheep licking my face. It was oddly uncharacteristic for these woolen animals. I sat up and wiped the sheep spittle off of my freckled cheek, still half asleep. Standing, I brushed all of the hay out of my very short hair. It hadn't been cut to look like a guys, to tell the truth. It had burnt that way when the dragons invaded my home island, and for some reason, it hadn't really grown back yet, even after four years. Gobber had teased me and said we might as well shave it all off, which caused eight year old me to run off squealing like a baby pig. I was about to lay back down, when the barn door flew open. I whipped around to see a distressed Hiccup standing there, holding an ax that looked too big for him.<br/>       "Wha- Hiccup?" I asked. "How did you find me here?"<br/>       He panted out his words.    <br/>       "Astrid... knew... where... you... were..."<br/>       I shook off the fact that Hiccup had just burst into my ‘room’ and sat back down on the pile of hay.<br/>       "What's with the ax?"<br/>       He looked back at it, then smirked.<br/>       "Oh, you'll never guess! I came home this morning, and I'm about to go upstairs, when my dad stops me. He starts giving me this big talk about how he wants me to start fighting dragons, and then, to top it all off, he gives me this. And I tried to tell him that I don't want to fight dragons, but he wouldn't listen."<br/>       Hiccup held out the ax, as if asking me to take it from him. Instead of doing that, I ran my fingers along it, slowly making my way up towards the blade. That was a bit of a dumb move, though, because as soon as my fingertips rubbed against the sharp metal, blood began to pour, and I had four nice sized cuts running in a straight line where flesh had met metal.<br/>       "Ow," I hissed, trying not to make a big deal about it.<br/>       "Oh, are you alright?" Hiccup asked, clearly a little concerned.<br/>       "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I wrapped my other fingers around my wounded ones, trying to hide the blood.<br/>       Hiccup didn't seem to believe me, though, because he reached out and grabbed my injured hand before I could flinch. He closely examined the cuts while I tried to ignore the stinging of the wound. Blood was running all over the place, and it had stained so much. After the longest minute of my life, Hiccup released my hand and looked at me.<br/>       "Hey, Reign, if you want, you could come back to my house. I know how to fix that." He pointed to my bleeding fingers.<br/>       I really didn't want to give in, but I realized it was the better option. After all, I didn't want people to think of me as the girl who fought dragons and stubbornly died from a little cut.<br/>       "Alright," I sighed. "But this better not take long."<br/><br/>       Hiccup tied a knot on the last bandage and I relaxed. He had poured watered down wine into the cuts, which made it sting. I mean, I know it's a disinfecting tactic and all, but still, it hurt like the demons from the underworld were biting me! Hiccup had already started to put things away when I snapped out of my daze, but I decided to continue on the conversation we were having earlier.<br/>       "What's with the sudden change of heart?" I asked out of nowhere.<br/>       Hiccup turned to look at me, shocked at what I'd just asked.<br/>       “Excuse me?” That was his response.<br/>       "Why do you suddenly not want to fight dragons? I mean, just last night, you shot down a Night Fury!"<br/>       "Well, yeah, but..."<br/>       He paused and took a deep breath. Then he came and pulled up a chair, sitting across from me, and continued speaking.<br/>       "... I couldn't bring myself to hurt it. It looked at me with these big, pleading eyes, and I knew I couldn't kill it. So, I cut it free and let it fly off. I'll probably never see it again, but I'm glad I let it live."<br/>       I smiled and looked at him. <br/>       "You did the right thing, Hiccup," I assured him. He smiled back, and I stood to leave.<br/>       "See you at training tomorrow!" I called to him as I shut the door behind me.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I had to wake up early the next morning for training, but I didn't mind. I was probably the only person on Berk that was well rested. See, last night, Chief Stoick and his men, and women, left the island to attempt to locate the nest where all dragons lived. They figured that if they took down that, all the other dragons would fly away and become someone else's problem. I hadn't gone to see them off, unlike everyone else, but I had a good reason.<br/>       I had no one to say goodbye to.<br/>       So, here we all were, bright and early in the training arena, just barely beating the sun with our time of awakening. There were seven of us: Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Hiccup, and myself. Yes, despite what he had told me yesterday, Hiccup had come anyway. I got the feeling it was to impress Astrid, but who knows?<br/>       Well, besides Hiccup himself.<br/>       I stood beside Astrid as we waited for Gobber to begin. She nudged me with her elbow and I smiled weakly at her. I was really nervous about this for some reason. Maybe it's because I'd never actually killed a dragon before.<br/>       Or maybe it was because Hiccup's words were starting to get to me.<br/>       I didn't have time to back out, however, because Gobber walked in at that moment. He looked at all of us, once, and then began speaking.<br/>       "Welcome to Dragon Training," he smiled.<br/>       "No turning back," Astrid whispered to me.<br/>       "Oh, yeah, thanks for that," I replied sarcastically.<br/>       "I hope I get some serious burns!" Tuffnut wished.<br/>       "I'm hoping for some mauling," Ruffnut stated, "like on my shoulder or lower back."<br/>       "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out if it," I huffed, rolling my eyes, which caused Astrid to giggle.<br/>       "Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain, I love it." Everyone looked over at Hiccup, and I silently face palmed.<br/>       "Oh, this is great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut groaned.<br/>       "Let's get started!" Gobber cried, changing the subject. "The recruit who does the best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."<br/>        I mentally did air quotes around the word ‘honor.’ <br/>       "Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him, or..." I slapped Snotlout, who was standing to my left, in the arm. A red mark slowly developed on his skin.<br/>       <em>And that was my injured hand</em>, I thought smugly.<br/>       "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut asked.<br/>       "Ugh, shut up, Tuffnut," I groaned. "Your voice is making me want to rip off my ears."<br/>       “I’ll rip them off for you, my princess," Snotlout whispered to me, resulting in a slap on the face.<br/>       Gobber threw his arm around Hiccup’s shoulders, clearly oblivious to what was going on over here. He then walked over and stood in front of the first gate.<br/>       "Now, behind these doors are just a few of the many species of dragons you will learn to fight."<br/>       Fishlegs bounced in excitement, clearly happy to hear the words 'a few of many."<br/>       "The Deadly Nadder." Gobber pointed to the first cage.<br/>       "Speed eight. Armor sixteen," Fishlegs muttered.<br/>       "The Hideous Zippleback."<br/>       "Plus eleven stealth, times two."<br/>       "The Monstrous Nightmare,"<br/>       "Firepower fifteen."<br/>       "The Terrible Terror."<br/>       "Attack eight, venom twelve."<br/>       "Can you stop that?" Gobber shouted. After a brief pause he moved to the final cage.<br/>       "And lastly... the Gronkle."<br/>       My stomach churned at the thought of having to fight one of these. Gobber pulled a lever, which raised a wooden cross beam on the Gronkle's cage.<br/>       "Whoa, wait! Aren't you going to teach us first?" Snotlout cried.<br/>       "I believe in learning on the job."<br/>       With that, the Gronkle burst out of its cage and the fight began.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Today is all about survival," Gobber called from a safe point.<br/>       <em>Yeah, </em>I thought, <em>easy for you to say. You're not staring death straight in his ugly face!</em><br/>       "If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"<br/>       "A doctor?" Hiccup asked, causing me to laugh.<br/>       "Plus five speed?" Fishlegs inquired. I snickered.<br/>       "A shield!" Astrid called.<br/>       "Shields, go." Gobber ordered us.<br/>       "Don't have to ask me twice," I replied, racing towards a corner where a shield was.<br/>       I had enough time to glance over at Hiccup, who looked as if he was panicking. I flashed him the quickest smile I ever had, but he didn’t notice. I wondered if he was ignoring me, but I didn't have time to think about it, though, because Gobber began speaking again.<br/>       "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, take a shield."<br/>       "But wouldn't a sword help you, I don’t know, actually <em>kill </em>the dragon?" I shouted up to Gobber.<br/>       I got no response, so I decided to focus back on actually attempting to take down this Gronkle. However, it wasn't hard to get distracted. Hiccup was struggling with picking up his shield, so I ran over and helped him lift it.<br/>       "Thanks," he smiled.<br/>       "No problem. Now stay close."<br/>       He nodded, clearly not wanting to protest, and then ducked behind me. I smiled back at him as the others shouted at each other. I looked over to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut fighting over a shield, which ended in Ruffnut hitting her brother over the head with said shield. I laughed and focused back in what was going on. Just at that moment, the Gronkle shot at the shield and it flew out of their hands, causing them to spin and fall to the ground.<br/>       "Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber shouted.<br/>       "What?" Ruff and Tuff asked, dazed and confused.<br/>       The Gronkle swallowed an entire pile of rocks, causing me to grab Hiccup's arm in fear. A second later, I realized what I was doing and pulled away, not sure why I was embarrassed.  After all, he was just my friend.<br/>       Wasn't he?</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Those shields are good for another thing: noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!"<br/>       We all reached down for various weapons scattered across the ground and began pounding on the shields. The 'clang' of metal against metal echoed off the walls, and it seemed to be working. The Gronkle became all cross eyed and its flying pattern began to falter, dipping the large dragon left and right.<br/>       "All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?" Gobber called over all the noise.<br/>       "Six?" Snotlout called, attempting to focus on two things at once.<br/>       "Seven!" Fishlegs answered confidently.<br/>       "Correct, seven! That's one for each of you!"<br/>       "Yeah, thanks for the support!" I cried sarcastically.<br/>       "I don't think my parents would-"<br/>       Fishlegs was cut off by the Gronkle firing another shot at him and his shield was blasted away.  That was another one down.<br/>       "Fishlegs, out!"<br/>       I looked behind me to see that Hiccup had moved from his position of using me as a human shield, and was now hiding in the corner. I scoffed and tried to meet his gaze, but he wouldn't look at me.<br/>       "Hiccup, get out here!" I called. He gave me a passing glance, but didn't move. Frustrated by this, I moved over to Astrid, who was bouncing on her heels. At that moment, Snotlout appeared in front of us.<br/>       "So, anyways, I'm moving into my parents' basement," Snotlout flirted. "You two should come by sometime to work out. You both look like you work out-"<br/>       Astrid cartwheeled out of the way, and taking her signal, I rolled. Just as I moved out of range, the Gronkle fired a shot and it smashed against Snotlout's shield. Astrid and I laughed as Snotlout fell on his back.<br/>       "Snotlout, you're done!"<br/>       Astrid rolled and came to a stop besides Hiccup. I stood off to the side, wanting to give them some space. Plus, if one of them got blasted, I wouldn’t be there to get caught in the crossfire.<br/>       "So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" Hiccup asked, voice breaking.<br/>       <em>Okay, I'm not <strong>that </strong>invisible! </em>I thought screamed.<br/>       "No, just you," Astrid rolled away, grabbing my arm, but I held my ground and stayed by Hiccup. The Gronkle heard the commotion and fired a shot at me. My shield flew out of my hands, and the blow surprised me so much that I lost balance, falling towards Hiccup. He didn’t notice, however, and I fell to the ground, landing on my back.<br/>            “Ugh, thanks a lot,” I muttered as I stood.<br/>         Just at that moment, the Gronkle fired another shot and blasted away Hiccup's shield. It rolled across the floor and he began to chase after it. The Gronkle then began to chase Hiccup, and although it left Astrid and me in the clear, I could feel worry building inside of me.<br/>       "Hiccup, look out!" I cried.<br/>       He turned to see the Gronkle diving towards him. It pinned Hiccup against the wall, and it opened its mouth, ready to fire. Just at that moment, Gobber lunged at the dragon and hooked its mouth, causing it to fire at the wall just above Hiccup's head.<br/>       "And that's seven."<br/>       Gobber wrestled the dragon back into its pen.<br/>       "Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry."<br/>       Gobber slammed the door behind the dragon and turned to all of us.<br/>       "Remember, a dragon will always, <em>always</em>-"<br/>       Gobber turned to look sternly at Hiccup.<br/>       "-go for the kill."</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hiccup had run off to who knows where, so I'd decided to have lunch with Astrid. It was fairly late, considering how long dragon training had taken, but it was nice. I hadn't gotten to spend time with her all that much, so it was the little moments that counted. We'd eaten out in the sun, talking about various things and laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. Then, we landed on the infamous topic: guys.<br/>       Of course, I'd been the one who started it. I decided that, as his friend, it was my duty to help Astrid and Hiccup become a thing. Not really sure why, but it seemed necessary.<br/>       "So," I asked, looking sly, "is there anyone you have a crush on?"<br/>       Astrid looked and me, eyes wide and mid chew. She swallowed and raised an eyebrow.<br/>       "Where is this coming from?"<br/>       "What? Can't I ask my foster sister who she has a crush on?"<br/>       "No," Astrid laughed. "It's not normal for you! But, if you really want to know, nobody."<br/>       "Are you being serious?" I asked. I made my voice sound intrigued, but inside I was faltering. She didn't even like Hiccup.<br/>       "What about you?" She snapped me out of my daze. "Is there anyone <em>you </em>have a crush on?"<br/>       "Wha- of course I don’t like anyone, Astrid!” I scoffed. “I mean, come on! Snotlout is gross, Fishlegs just isn't my type, and Tuffnut is too weird."<br/>       "What about Hiccup?"<br/>       "What <em>about </em>Hiccup?"<br/>       "You didn't say anything about him. Do you like him?" There was slight disgust in her tone.<br/>       "Oh, nah. He's just more of a friend type of person, you know? I mean, he's nice and all, but still." I could feel heat rising to my cheeks for some reason.<br/>       "Okay, sure," Astrid replied, skeptical.<br/>       "Sorry for asking, I just felt like it needed to be talked about."<br/>       We sat there in awkward silence for a few moments when she spoke up.<br/>       "Well, I mean, as annoying as he can be, Hiccup is <em>kind of </em>cute," she blushed.<br/>       My head shot up and I smiled at her.<br/>       "Oh my gods!" I screeched. "That is amazing! You two should be together."<br/>       "Eh. The only thing I like about him is that he's a little smart. Other than that, I don't like him at all."<br/>       I sighed and stood up.<br/>       "You are <em>impossible</em>! You're the most desired girl on the island! Are you that oblivious?"<br/>       "Oh, nah. I see it all the time. I just like messing with them."<br/>       I laughed at that. It was nice to know someone else found it fun to mess with people’s minds.<br/>       "Besides," she continued, "everyone really likes you, and you haven't been here that long."<br/>       Astrid almost sounded jealous when she said that, but I just decided to ignore it. I sat back down and we eased into a natural conversation again.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The others had gathered in the Great Hall for dinner, but for some reason, I wasn't hungry. I blamed it on the late lunch that Astrid and I had eaten, but that wasn't the true reason. In truth, I'm pretty sure it was because I was so focused on attempting to get Hiccup and Astrid together. I was trying to focus on any plans, but every time I thought of them together, my stomach twisted in knots and I felt like I couldn't breathe.<br/>       <em>That's </em>the main reason I didn't want to go. I didn't want to see Hiccup and Astrid near each other, possibly talking and laughing, having a good time. Then Astrid might realize that she actually really liked Hiccup, and they'll snuggle close, and...<br/>       <strong><em>BANG!</em></strong><br/>       The loud clap of thunder snapped me out of my thoughts. I shrunk slowly into my seat. I was really afraid of thunderstorms. The loud noises and bright flashes reminded me of a war, with shots firing and fires erupting.<br/>       But Hiccup and Astrid together made me feel even more afraid, even angry. I made up my mind: I was going down to that hall. I snatched up my jacket and journal and bolted out the door. I never went anywhere without this journal, and, rain or not, I was determined to keep it with me. Rain poured down on me as I sprinted towards the Great Hall. I jumped whenever lightning flashed and thunder clapped. Finally, <em>finally, </em>I reached the Great Hall and threw the doors open. I slammed them shut behind me and turned to see Hiccup gaping at me.<br/>       And only Hiccup.<br/>       I ran over to him and sat beside him, attempting to act normal. He gaped at me and I attempted to start a conversation.<br/>       "Tough class today, huh Hiccup?"<br/>       I shivered from the cold and Hiccup walked over to the other end of the hall. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around me.<br/>       "Thanks," I smiled, and he sat back down next to me.<br/>       "No problem. Oh, and to answer your question, yes, it was a tough class."<br/>       My gaze flickered over to the book that Hiccup was reading. The cover read <em>The Book of Dragons</em>.<br/>       "Oh! I've read that!" I smiled.<br/>       "Oh... then I'd assume that you're going to leave then?" His gaze fell.<br/>       A loud clap of thunder echoed off the walls and I jumped. Hiccup noticed and hugged me close.<br/>       "You’re afraid of thunderstorms, huh?" He smirked.<br/>       "Yes," I sighed. I then cowered closer to him as lightning flashed.<br/>       "Don't worry," he smiled. "They can't actually hurt you."<br/>       He hugged me even tighter and I smiled.<br/>       "Thanks, Hiccup. You're an amazing friend."<br/>       He didn’t respond. He just turned back to the book and went back to reading the detailed pages.<br/>       I sighed again, relaxed, and then fell asleep.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> <br/>        <em>"No, stop!"</em><br/>       <em>I was grabbing onto someone's arm, keeping them from stabbing a knife into my father's neck. The person looked down at me with furious eyes. Their gaze seemed to soften for a second, then they ran the knife along my arm. I screamed and released my grip as blood poured down my arm like a red waterfall down my skinny arm. The person stabbed my father and he collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around him. The cut had been so deep that muscle was visible through it. The person then approached me and spoke in a crazed voice, as if he had gone mad.</em><br/>       <em>"Now, listen to me, little Reign. You will not tell <strong>anyone </strong>what I have done. If you do, I will rip you limb from limb and make you eat your own eyeballs! Is that clear?"</em><br/>       <em>I trembled as I responded, blood dripping from my arm onto my clothes, then down to the ground.</em><br/>       <em>"I-I-I w-wo-won-won’t t-te-tel-tell a-a-any-anyo-anyon-anyone, b-bi-big b-br-bro-brot-broth-brothe-brother."</em><br/>       <em>"Hmm, I don't believe you."</em><br/>       <em>He raised the knife and moved in to stab me.</em><br/>       I woke up screaming at the frequency of a Thunderdrum. Tears were streaming down my cheeks when I felt arms wrap around me. Still spooked from my nightmare, I grasped the arms and attempted to flip the person.<br/>       "Hey, whoa, careful!" A familiar voice cried. "What the heck, Reign?"<br/>       I turned around to see Hiccup looking at me, concerned. I quickly shoved myself back into his arms, still trembling.<br/>       "Whoa. What's wrong?"<br/>       "I-I had this nightmare. It was from my past. M-my brother, h-he m-murdered my-my father."<br/>       Hiccup hugged me closer and tried to reassure me.<br/>       "Hey, it's alright. You're here, and you're safe, and you've started a better life. You're far away from..."<br/>       He paused, but I knew why. No one, not even me, knew where I came from. I'd been dropped on my head by that dragon, and there were only certain things I remember. Hiccup tried to distract me with his book.<br/>       "Hey, Reign, look at this."<br/>       He opened the book to a page what was nearly empty. The only things on it were two words:<br/>       <em>Night Fury. </em>A memory suddenly sparked in my mind: two deep purple eyes attached to a midnight black dragon.<br/>         It was a Night Fury.<br/>       "Hmm," I murmured. "That's odd."<br/>       "I know. There's no information on this dragon except 'kill on sight.'"<br/>       "No, I just remembered something! The dragon that took me from my island... it was a Night Fury! I know it!"<br/>       "Wha- really? Was it playful with green eyes?"<br/>       "Uh, no, it had deep purple eyes. Why do you ask?"<br/>       "Oh, no reason," he trailed off, not meeting my eyes. I didn’t believe, but I also didn’t believe that I would get an answer out of him. I decided to just let it go and be suspicious internally.<br/>       "Uh, alright... I guess..."<br/>       I stood and put down the blanket.<br/>       "Well, I'm going to bed now. And by bed, I mean that stack of hay in the barn beside Astrid's house."<br/>       I was about to walk out, when Hiccup's voice cut in.<br/>       "Alright, then, goodnight, Reign."<br/>       I turned around and smiled at him.<br/>       "Goodnight, Hiccup. See you at training tomorrow."</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book, or a sequel, maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"<br/>       There was a blast of fire, and the head of Hiccup's ax went flying in another direction. Hiccup yelped like an injured puppy and ran.<br/>       "Focus, Hiccup," I cried. "You're not even trying!"<br/>       Today we were working on our attack strategies. Gobber had set up a wooden maze, and there was a Deadly Nadder rampaging loose somewhere along the walls.<br/>       "Today is all about attack," Gobber called from his usual place up above. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."<br/>       We all began to move in, getting closer to where the Nadder was, when I tripped on Hiccup. I didn't fall, but I stumbled and called the Nadder's attention our way. However, it became distracted when its vision rested on Fishlegs' figure poking out from behind one of the walls. It whipped its tail, which was coated in spines. Fishlegs screamed and lifted that section of the wall, shielding himself from the spray of spikes.<br/>       "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods," Fishlegs cried.<br/>       "I think we all are," I shouted back.<br/>       "Look for its blind spot," Gobber advised. "Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike."<br/>       Ruffnut and Tuffnut rushed towards the Nadder and rolled up to its nose. The Nadder sniffed the air, but paid no mind to Ruff and Tuff. It clearly couldn't see them.<br/>       "Ugh," Ruffnut whispered. "Do you ever bathe?"<br/>       "If you don't like it," Tuffnut responded, "then just get your own blind spot."<br/>       "How about I give you one?"<br/>       Ruff and Tuff began shoving each other, which they shouldn't have done. Their noise and movement gave them away, and the Nadder snapped at both of them.<br/>       "Blind spot?  Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much," Gobber commented.<br/>       "Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"<br/>       I looked over to see Hiccup attempting to converse with Gobber again.<br/>       <em>What is with him and all this Night Fury talk?</em><br/>       "No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale," Gobber replied nonchalantly. "Now get out there!"<br/>       "I know, I know, but hypothetically..."<br/>       "Hiccup," I hissed at him, attempting to keep my voice low.<br/>       He looked at me and Astrid put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. He came over and hid beside Astrid, clearly trying to be close to her. Only a moment later, the Nadder leaped over the wall, landing in front of Astrid and I. We both somersaulted into its blind spot. Astrid reared back to strike when Snotlout came in and swept the two of us behind him.<br/>       "Watch out, babes," Snotlout smiled. "I'll take care of this."<br/>       I face palmed and waited for the Nadder's attack.<br/>       "Hey!" Astrid cried, causing Snotlout to miss his shot. We both glared at him and he sighed.<br/>       "The sun was in my eyes, Reign. What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!"<br/>       The Nadder began racing towards Astrid and I, knocking down the walls in the process. Astrid handed me her ax and began diving and leaping.<br/>       "They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?"<br/>       "Hiccup!" Gobber cried, frustrated.<br/>       "<em>Hiccup</em>!"</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A second later, I felt myself being shoved, and I flew out of the dust, landing on top of Hiccup.  We were one limb tangled mess.<br/>       "Oooh, love one the battlefield!" Tuffnut teased.<br/>       "She could do better," Ruffnut added.<br/>       There was a mess of smacking and struggling as we attempted to untangle.<br/>       "Just... let me... why don't you..." Hiccup choked out, clearly trying to suggest something.<br/>       Hearing Hiccup speak, the Nadder spun around and raced towards us. Astrid came over, untangled us, and tried to pull her axe out of Hiccup's shield, which was attached to his limp, gangly arm. I decided to help Astrid. I placed my foot on his torso and yanked the axe free, though it still had pieces of Hiccup's shield on it. I could hear a noise behind me, so I spun and smacked the Nadder on its nose. The pieces of wood that were left went flying in all directions and the Nadder yelped and scurried away.<br/>       "Well done, Reign," Gobber praised. He then came over to wrestle the Nadder back into its cage.<br/>       I helped Hiccup to his feet, and turned to see all eyes on us. My cheeks turned a deep red and I walked to stand next to Astrid. He followed me with his gaze and Astrid began yelling at him.<br/>       "Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on!"<br/>       I handed Astrid's axe back to her and she stormed away, the others following. Hiccup stood there, looking hurt, and I attempted to make him feel better.<br/>       "Hey," I murmured, "let me tell you something."<br/>       He looked at me and I spilled something I'd never thought I'd tell anyone.<br/>       "I've never actually wanted to kill dragons."<br/>       He looked at me, eyes wide, and mouth agape.<br/>       "You-you don't want to fight dragons?"<br/>       I shook my head and he broke out into a smile.<br/>       "That- that's amazing! I didn't know there was someone else who felt like me!"<br/>       "Yeah, it's a wonderful feeling."<br/>       "Reign!"<br/>       I turned to see a very angry looking Astrid glaring at me. I sighed.<br/>       "I have to go, Hiccup, but I'll see you tomorrow."<br/>       I waved as I ran towards her, and Hiccup waved back. Once we were out of earshot, Astrid slapped my arm.<br/>       "Ow!" I winced. "What was that for?"<br/>       "Why are you talking to him? Are you <em>actually </em>his friend?" Her emphasis on ‘actually’ was a bit disturbing.<br/>       I nodded warily. She slapped my arm again.<br/>       "Reign, please, just stay on the right side of the war: our side."<br/>       With that, Astrid walked away with the others, and I stood there, dumbfounded.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I sat on the pile of hay, confused and hurt. I enjoyed being friends with Hiccup, but I didn't want to lose the people that meant a lot to me. My head was rested in my hands and tears were slipping down my cheeks. I was so conflicted and torn. I'd never seen Astrid so mad before, and she’d never been so mean. It seemed like she was trying to control who I befriended, which was becoming a problem. I was snapped out of my saddened thoughts by footsteps. I looked up to see Hiccup standing in the doorway. He smiled and sat down beside me.<br/>       "What's wrong?" He asked, worried.<br/>       "Oh, nothing," I sniffed, attempting to smile at him.<br/>       "Are you sure?"<br/>       I stood and nodded. Hiccup raised his eyebrow at me, but caved and changed the subject.<br/>       "Well, the others are eating dinner with Gobber by the fire pit, if you want to join your friends."<br/>       I looked at him and smiled a real smile.<br/>       "Yeah, thanks.  Will you coming with me?"<br/>       "Oh, nah. The others are already mad enough. I don't need to enrage them even more by coming."<br/>       I grabbed his arm and began running.<br/>       "I insist."<br/> <br/>       "...and with one twist, he took my hand and swallowed it whole. I saw the look on his face: I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one took my leg."<br/>       "Eew," I replied, disgusted.<br/>       "Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside the dragon," Fishlegs rambled. "Like, if your mind was in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something."<br/>       "Okay, that's kind of awesome," I smiled, trying to hide the fact that I’d suddenly lost my appetite, “despite the fact that it’s completely impossible.”<br/>       "I swear I'm so angry right now," Snotlout ranted. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop of the legs of every dragon that I fight with my face." Snotlout postured towards Astrid and I. She rolled her eyes and I punched his arm.<br/>       "Un-unh," Gobber replied, mouth full. "It's the wings and tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."<br/>       <em>Hmm... can it really not fly without its tail? The tail doesn’t seem all that important...</em><br/>       I looked over at Hiccup, who had this terrified look on his face. I placed my hand on his arm and he smiled weakly at me. I turned away and heard shuffling, but I decided to ignore it<br/>       "Alright," Gobber yawned. "I'm off to bed. You should be, too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys, slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"<br/>         <em>I really don’t think ‘honor’ is the word...</em><br/>         I shrunk back, not wanting it to be me. Gobber hobbled away as the others chimed in.<br/>       "It's going to be me," Tuffnut stated. "It's my destiny."<br/>       He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a red dragon on his arm.<br/>       "Your mom let you get a tattoo?" Fishlegs gasped.<br/>       "It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark."<br/>       "Okay, I've been with you since birth, and that was <em>never </em>there before," Ruffnut chimed in.<br/>       "Yes it was. You've just never seen me from the left side before."<br/>        I could feel my eyes roll. There was absolutely <em>no way </em>Ruffnut had never seen Tuffnut from the left before. They’d lived together for fifteen years, and for crying out loud, they were <em>born </em>together!<br/>       "It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or a today mark?" Snotlout sighed.<br/>       I looked to my left to see Hiccup gone. I then moved my gaze to Astrid. She was looking towards the stairs. I followed her gaze and saw Hiccup walking away, down the steps.<br/>       I got up and walked down the stairs.<br/>       "Reign, where are you going?" Astrid hissed.<br/>       "I’m following Hiccup. He's been acting weird these past couple of days."<br/>       "Do you not remember what we talked about earlier?" Her voice had turned into a low growl.<br/>       "Yes, and I'm choosing the side that isn't turning you into an angry, stuck up brat!"<br/>       I ran down the stairs before I could hear her reply, but based on the way her face had looked. I was glad I had walked away.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I'd followed Hiccup to Gobber's smithy, where he had slipped into a back room. I took a breath and slowly pushed open the door. Hiccup had his head bent over the book. I slowly and quietly came up beside him and looked down at his book. He was drawing a Night Fury... for some reason.<br/>       "Hiccup?"<br/>       Hiccup jumped and slammed his book shut. He looked up at me and softened a bit.<br/>       "Oh, Reign," he sighed. "Good. It's just you."<br/>       "It’s just me?" I asked playfully. He smirked and I asked my next question. "Why were you drawing a Night Fury?"<br/>       "Oh... no reason," he replied unconvincingly.<br/>       "Really? I don't believe you."<br/>       "Yeah, really."<br/>       “You’ve been awfully obsessed with them lately.”<br/>        “That’s because no one knows about them. I was hoping to be the first.” I could tell he was lying, but I let it slide.<br/>       I turned my head away, then quickly slapped my hand over his and tried to pry his fingers away. He recoiled and pushed me to the ground, but his plan backfired when I pulled him down with me. We began wrestling, but it ended quickly when I pinned him to the ground.<br/>       "Don't mess with me, Haddock," I teased.<br/>       "I suddenly understand why you don't want to fight the dragons."<br/>       "Why?"<br/>       "You're such a horrible fighter!"<br/>       "Oh, you've asked for it now!"<br/>       I stood slammed my foot onto his stomach, causing him to make an 'oof' sort of noise. I then shot up and ran over to his desk, snatching up the book. I was about to open it when Hiccup grabbed my hand, trying to steal it back. I ignored the deep blush on my cheeks and began fighting for Hiccup's book. In the end, Hiccup won.<br/>       "Alright, alright," I sighed. "I give up. You win."<br/>       He laughed and I turned to open the door.<br/>       "Leaving?" He asked.<br/>       "Yeah, I'm exhausted."<br/>       "Alright, goodnight, Reign."<br/>       "Goodnight, Hiccup-not-so-Horrendous Haddock III."<br/>       I shut the door behind me and sighed.<br/>       <em>I guess I really <strong>do </strong>like Hiccup, more than just a friend.</em><br/>       I actually slapped my face, <em>hard</em>.<br/>       <strong><em>No! </em></strong><em>Reign, stop being so stupid! You don’t like him! You’re only saying that because you found someone like you! It will wear off as soon as it started, so you shouldn’t give in!</em><br/>      Having yelled at myself, I walked away and fell into a deep sleep.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive."<br/>       "Yeah," I whispered, "because I want to work with Miss-Stuck-Up-Astrid."<br/>       "What was that?" Hiccup asked from beside me.<br/>       "Oh, nothing," I sighed.<br/>       There was a loud blast and smoke enveloped the ring. All of us were paired up with someone. Fishlegs, Astrid, and Ruffnut were together. Snotlout was with Tuffnut, and I was paired up with Hiccup. We were all carrying buckets of water to splash onto the dragon we were fighting today: the Hideous Zippleback.<br/>       "Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."<br/>       "Oh yeah," I sneered, rolling my eyes. "<em>That's </em>going to be easy. They totally don't look exactly alike!"<br/>       Hiccup laughed quietly and smiled at me. I could have sworn there was a light blush to his cheeks, but I'm sure I was wrong. More smoke encircled us and I grabbed onto Hiccup's arm. I soon realized what I was doing and awkwardly pulled away, cheeks feeling like they were on fire. Not much happened to us, but I could hear shouting coming from the other side of the arena.<br/>       "Guess it's not going so well over there," I laughed.<br/>       I could hear a thudding noise, and Tuffnut's shouting.<br/>       "Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!"<br/>       I laughed, then quickly became quiet, hearing footsteps. I tensed, worried it was the dragon, but then relaxed when I heard Fishlegs' voice.<br/>       "Chances are dwindling into the single digits, now..."<br/>       "Look out!" Hiccup cried.<br/>       I turned around so fast that I dropped my bucket.<br/>       "Oh great..."<br/>       I then looked up and screamed. One of the Zippleback's heads was right in front of me. Fishlegs came to my rescue by throwing his bucket of water at its head. The head got completely doused, and it began spilling gas from its mouth.<br/>       "Oh," Fishlegs sighed. "That’s the wrong head."<br/>       Fishlegs then fled in panic.<br/>       "My hero," I grumbled.<br/>       There was a clicking noise, and when I turned around, the other head emerged from the gas. Sparks began to flash.<br/>       "Now, Hiccup!" Gobber called.<br/>       Hiccup threw the water in his bucket, but it just fell short of where the head was. The Zippleback seemed to grin.<br/>       "Oh, come on!"<br/>       "Run, Hiccup!" I cried.<br/>       I covered my eyes, afraid of watching Hiccup's demise. I didn't hear any noise, so I peered through my hands. What I saw was astounding. Hiccup was holding his hand out in front of the dragon, and it stared at him, as if transfixed.<br/>       "Back! Back! Back!" Hiccup yelled at it. "Now, don't make me tell you again!"<br/>       The Zippleback began walking back towards its cage. I stood there, smile wide and eyes sparkling, as Hiccup reached into his vest and pulled out an eel. The Zippleback hissed at it and Hiccup moved even closer. Once the dragon was all the way into its cage, Hiccup threw the eel in and slammed the doors shut.<br/>       "Now think about what you've done!"<br/>       Hiccup turned to find all of us staring at him, shocked.<br/>       "Okay. So are we done? Because I've got some things I need to do..."<br/>       He jogged past all of us, who just watched him leave. I shook my head and followed him out. Once we were out of the ring, I grabbed his arm to stop him.<br/>       "Hiccup!" I cried, smiling at him. "That was amazing! How did you do that?"<br/>       He suddenly started acting weird, as if trying to avoid me.<br/>       "Uh, Reign, I kind of have to go..."<br/>       I sighed.<br/>       "C'mon, Hiccup! Just tell me!"<br/>       "Look, I'm sorry Reign. I'll be able to tell you soon, but not today."<br/>       I sighed, feeling left out.<br/>       "Alright, I guess..."<br/>       He turned to walk away, but I turned him back around and hugged him. He flinched for a second, but then gave in. I pushed away and ran off to where Astrid was.<br/>       "See you later!" I called over my shoulder.<br/>      I came up to Astrid, who, of course, was giving me a death glare.<br/>       “What was that about? Has <em>anything </em>I said gotten into that brain of yours?” Her voice was loud, and her eyes held daggers.<br/>      “Oh, of course, it’s all gotten in here.” I tapped my temple. “But I’ve decided that I can be friends with both sides of the war.”<br/>       Astrid punched my arm and walked away, the others following. Each glanced at me with looks that almost seemed sympathetic.<br/>       <em>Did I really just lose all my friends?</em></p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, we were facing off against the Gronkle again. I was more prepared this time. I had studied the Gronkles moves and attack preferences, and I was ready to take it down. As much as I sympathized with dragons, I needed to step up my game. After all, I was still a dragon hunter, and I would probably be stuck with that position forever, so I'd have to learn to actually <em>kill </em>a dragon. I was about to rush in to grab its head, just like Gobber had instructed, when Hiccup cut in front of me. He grabbed the head and pulled out some odd plant from his vest, held it up to the dragon's nose, and it went weak. Hiccup dropped the plant to the ground, and the Gronkle went down with it, rolling and twitching on the ground. I had to admit, it was pretty impressive. I looked behind me to Astrid, expecting her to be impressed, too, but she just looked annoyed. Gobber walked over to put the dragon back into its cage, and Hiccup was surrounded by everyone, minus Astrid and me. I'd been pushed aside by everyone, and Astrid was just being a poor sport about all of this. I followed behind the group as they all left. They were bombarding Hiccup with questions.<br/>       "Hey Hiccup," Fishlegs began. "I've never seen a Gronkle act that way before."<br/>       "How'd you do that?" Tuffnut asked.<br/>       "It was really cool." Ruffnut seemed to be almost... flirting. Jealousy burned inside of me as she batted her eyelashes.<br/>       Hiccup squirmed, as if uncomfortable in the situation. I didn't blame him. Ruffnut was standing <em>really </em>close to Hiccup.<br/>       "Uh, I left my ax back at the ring," he lied, breaking free from the ogling group. "You guys go on ahead and I'll catch up."<br/>       He wandered my way, and I caught Hiccup by the arm. He spun and looked into my eyes, and I felt my heart flutter a little.<br/>       "Hiccup," I marveled. "That was amazing! Seriously, how did you do that?"<br/>       He pulled away from my grip and walked away.<br/>       "Not now, Reign, I'm busy. I'll talk to you later I guess, maybe."<br/>       Each step he took made my heart break a little more.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stunned.<br/>That was the only word to describe the looks on all of our faces: completely and utterly stunned. Hiccup had just rubbed the Deadly Nadder behind the ear and it... collapsed. It just collapsed as if it had died on the spot. Of course, Hiccup had just incapacitated it, but still! It was amazing! I moved over to try and congratulate Hiccup, but the others had beaten me to it, and I was once again pushed aside.<br/>       "Hiccup!" I called.<br/>       He didn't even give me a passing glance. I guess I'd have to get used to it. He was becoming too popular for me.<br/>       It was only a matter of time before Astrid fell for him, but I didn't see the point in telling him. He would just reject me and think I'm too weird for him. After all, he was changing again. The old Hiccup was dead, and he had been replaced with a Hiccup who enjoyed taking down dragons.<br/>       Now I was the only dragon lover left.<br/> <br/>       Rejected: that's what I had been. Rejected and left alone. The six of us (Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Astrid, and myself) were just sitting and eating, talking happily. As soon as Hiccup sat down, however, everyone flocked to him, even Astrid. Hiccup didn't even stop to look and see if I was with them. I was too angry with Hiccup to be near him, so I just ate and listened to their conversation.<br/>       "Hey Hiccup!" Fishlegs greeted.<br/>       "What was that, some kind of trick? What did you do?" Snotlout pestered.<br/>       "Hiccup, you're totally going to win, hands down," Tuffnut marveled.<br/>       That's when Hiccup must have noticed I was missing. He looked over to the side, noticed me and stood.<br/>       "Um, if you guys will excuse me for a minute..."<br/>       He began to walk over to me, so I stood, back turned to him.<br/>       "Oh, come on Reign," he sighed. "Don't be like..."<br/>       I walked away and opened the door. Hiccup walked over and sat back down. The last thing I heard was Astrid.<br/>       "Ooh, rejected."<br/>       I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>   "Meet the Terrible Terror."<br/>       A tiny dragon emerged from the cage. It was so small, and, to be honest, cute.<br/>       "Ha. It's the size of my-"<br/>       There was a green blur, and Tuffnut was tackled to the ground.<br/>       "Get off, get off! Oh! I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!"<br/>       I couldn't even laugh, I was so depressed. The last few days, Hiccup and I had become really distant. He pretty much ignored me and hung out with those who had only noticed him when he started being... cool. I had been his first friend, but he didn't seem to care. I guessed it was time to move on.<br/>       I was snapped out of my thoughts by the Terrible Terror chasing a light beam. I looked up to see Hiccup had a piece of glass that he was using to reflect the light beam. The Terror followed the beam all the way into the cage, and Gobber shut the door. The stunned silence was shorter this time, and my 'friends' raced over to Hiccup faster. Astrid and I pretty much had the same looks on our faces, but soon she, too, raced over to him. As Tuffnut passed, he said something unnecessary and just flat out mean.<br/>       "Wow. He's better than you ever were."<br/>       Tears welled in my eyes, hurt and angered. Everyone had abandoned me these past few days, and I didn't have anyone left. I raced past the group, tears blinding my vision. Because of this, I accidentally crashed into Hiccup, who watched me as I left. I heard him talking to the others, but I didn't stop to listen. I simply ran to the barn, slammed the doors shut, and fell onto my stack of hay, crying my eyes out.<br/> <br/>       A week: that's how long I'd just sat in the Hofferson's barn being depressed. I'd barely eaten, and I'd only done one thing besides crying. <br/>       Getting down to the wire, I'd stopped everything. I'd even quit dragon training. I didn't want to be anywhere near Hiccup, Astrid, or anyone else. Some days, Astrid would come in and attempt to comfort me, but she couldn't today because today was the big day. Today was the day that the recruits were fighting to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. I hoped that the dragon ate Hiccup. I wanted Astrid to win so badly!<br/>       "Oh, Hiccup," I whispered to myself. "Why didn't I just talk to you? Why did I have to be so stupid? I wish you would just come here right now so I could tell you-"<br/>       The barn doors swung open, and there was Hiccup, winded and fearful looking.<br/>       "Hiccup, what do you want?"<br/>       "Look, Reign, I know you're mad at me, but I need to ask you something."<br/>       "Make it snappy."<br/>       "Well, I kind of need to explain first."<br/>       "Fine," I huffed.<br/>       "Okay, so I won the 'honor' of killing the Monstrous Nightmare-"<br/>       "Oh, good for you."<br/>       "-but I really don't want to, so people are getting suspicious. I've decided that I should leave this island. I'm running away, and Reign-"<br/>       He came over, grabbed my hand, and forced me to look at him.<br/>       "-I want you to run away with me."</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>       "Wha- run away?" I asked, shocked. "How on Earth would we do that? We can't steal a boat, and there's no way that we could swim to another island!"<br/>       "Yeah, about that…" Hiccup scratched. "That's what I was waiting to show you..."<br/>       "What do you mean?"<br/>       "Come with me. I'll show you how we're leaving. If you don't like it, then you don't have to come, but I think you'll want to meet them."<br/>       "<em>Them?"</em><br/>       He grabbed my hand and led me away.<br/> <br/>       "Hiccup, I'll admit. This place is amazing."<br/>       Hiccup had led me to a beautiful area, secluded from Berk. There was a small, clear pond in the center, and the actual area was surrounded by trees and plants. The light came through in a certain way that just made it look... perfect. Like something right out of a drawing.<br/>       "Yeah, I love coming here to just sit and think."<br/>       He turned and looked me right in the eye.<br/>       "Don't be scared, and don't overreact. He doesn't take kindly to visitors. At least, I don't think..."<br/>       He faced the vast and distant trees and called out.<br/>       "Toothless, come here!"<br/>       <em>Toothless... </em>I thought. <em>What kind of name is Toothle-?</em><br/>       Just then, there was a loud, screeching cry, and my heart stopped. I recognized the cry like the back of my hand. To confirm it, at that moment, a midnight black dragon emerged from the trees. My scream echoed off the walls.<br/>       "Hiccup!" I cried.<br/>       "Now, I can understand that you're panicking a bit. But don't worry. He won't hurt you."<br/>       "Won't hurt me? It's a dragon!"<br/>       "Reign, just trust me. Toothless, meet Reign, Reign, meet Toothless."<br/>       "Hiccup, you caught a freaking Night Fury!"<br/>       I stood there, eyes wide for a second, then took off running, terrified. The last thing I heard was Hiccup's voice.<br/>       "Da da da, we're dead."<br/>       I ran up the hill faster than I'd ever run in my life. I hadn't been running for very long before I was snatched up by Hiccup's dragon. I screamed and screeched like a Terrible Terror.<br/>       "Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!"<br/>       I couldn't even describe how afraid I was once that dragon dropped me onto the top of a pine tree. It then landed beside me as I clung to the pine. I looked up to see Hiccup... <em>on the back of the dragon</em>?!<br/>       "Hiccup!" I screeched. "Get me down from here!"<br/>       "You have to give me a chance to explain."<br/>       "I'm not listening to <em>anything </em>you have to say!"<br/>       "Then I won't speak. Just let me show you."<br/>       He extended his hand to me.<br/>       "Please, Reign."<br/>       I rolled my eyes, but gave in and grabbed his hand. He hoisted me up and I sat behind him, annoyed. Toothless, the Night Fury, extended his wings, and an updraft hit us. I had to admit, I was starting to soften.<br/>       "Alright, now get me down."<br/>       "Toothless? Down, gently."<br/>       I heard a small growl, and Toothless began to float in midair.<br/>       "See?" Hiccup smiled back at me. "There’s nothing to be afraid of."<br/>       At that moment, Toothless launched forward.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I screamed. Hiccup had told me there was nothing to be afraid of, but at this moment, I was terrified. Every time Toothless beat his wings down, we were thrown slightly into the air. Toothless then sped up, going faster and faster. I was thrown back a bit, but I hugged Hiccup's waist for dear life and screamed some more.<br/>       "Toothless! What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!" Hiccup then turned to look at my horrified face. "He's not usually like this." Then then paused and looked forward. "Oh no..."<br/>       Toothless began to roll and plummet toward the coastline below us. I once again screamed and shut my eyes. I could feel this dragon dipping in and out of the froths of the wave. I was soaking wet, and I could feel that Hiccup had gotten drenched himself.<br/>       "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!"<br/>       Instead of listening, Toothless raced skyward and tumbled head over tail.<br/>       "And now the spinning… Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"<br/>       I hugged Hiccup even closer and yelled as loud as I could.<br/>       "Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off this thing!"<br/>       All the anger and sadness had left me. All I wanted was to go home. As if hearing my thoughts, Toothless began to level out his flying, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that we were above the clouds. I was shocked and amazed. They looked so real, as if I could...<br/>       I reached down and ran my hands through the clouds, they split and spiraled gracefully. Any fear that I had quickly faded to wonder and amazement. Toothless flew even higher…<br/> <br/>      It was getting late. The sky was full of stars, and we were just below the Northern Lights. They reminded me of ribbons, wrapping and dancing across the night sky. When I looked down, I saw the torches that lit Berk flickering in the darkness. I tucked my arms into Hiccup's vest, and placed my chin on his shoulder. He smiled back at me nervously as Toothless headed out over open water, leaving Berk behind us.<br/>       "Alright," I sighed. "I'll admit it. This is pretty cool. It's... amazing. He's amazing." I reached down to pat Toothless, then looked back up at Hiccup. “What now?" Hiccup groaned. "Hiccup, your final exam is, what, tomorrow? You know you're going to have to kill..." I lowered my voice and whispered in his ear. "...kill a dragon."<br/>       "Don't remind me."<br/>       Just then, there was an odd noise, and Toothless dove below the cloud cover. I looked at him and he shrugged.<br/>       "Toothless, what's happening? What is it?"<br/>       Toothless barked at us, as if to say to be quiet. I was about to let this all go, when a Monstrous Nightmare emerged from the clouds.<br/>       "Get down!" Hiccup hissed. We both crouched down and I shuddered as more and more dragons came forward. A Zippleback and the Nightmare had boxed us in, rendering Toothless unable to escape.<br/>       "What's going on?" I asked.<br/>       "I don't know. Toothless, you've got to get us out of here."<br/>       Toothless responded by hissing. I once again closed my eyes, and I felt a hand rest on mine. It didn't take a genius to know that it was Hiccup. I could hear the screeches of more and more dragons surrounding us. I opened one eye and saw hundreds and hundreds of dragons flying around us.<br/>       And among them was a purple eyed Night Fury.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"It looks like they're hauling in their kill," Hiccup whispered.<br/>       I wasn't really paying attention to what Hiccup said. I heard it, but I didn't respond. I had locked eyes with the Night Fury, and it slowly inched closer to us.<br/>       "Reign, did you hear what I just said?" Hiccup hissed.<br/>       "Yeah, that they're hauling in their kill…" The words sunk in and terror struck. "What does that make us?"<br/>       Hiccup looked to the left and saw the Night Fury.<br/>       "Reign, is that..."<br/>       I nodded.<br/>       "It's the one that took me from my home. I can't believe she lived!"<br/>       "She?"<br/>       "Yeah. I just know it's a she..."<br/>       Hiccup nudged me with his elbow and smiled. I knew what he meant.<br/>       "Go on, Reign."<br/>       I smiled, and the Night Fury came closer, just within arm’s length. I warily swung my legs so that both were facing the Night Fury. Then, slowly but surely, I eased myself onto her, until I was sitting just like him. He looked over at me and smiled, and I stroked the Night Fury.<br/>       "I'm going to name you Amethyst, because of your eyes."<br/>       Amethyst gave an approving growl and I smiled.<br/>       The dragons dove and banked in their formation, plummeting through the thick fog and weaving between stacks of rocks emerging from the sea. We emerged at the base of a massive volcanic formation. The flocks changed their formation, associating with the others of their kind, and funneled through a crack. We finally landed on a ledge in a steamy inner chamber. Assorted dragon breeds sat about on the ledges, but they were only with their own. I looked around for Hiccup and Toothless, and found them on the <em>other </em>side of the room.<br/>       Other dragons slowly flew in, and as they did, they dropped fish and game into the central pit.<br/>       "What the Vikings wouldn't give to find this," I murmured.<br/>       More and more food was being dropped into the pit.<br/>       "Well, it's nice to know that all our food is being dumped into a pit," I huffed. "Though, it is odd that they're not eating any of it..."<br/>       There was a terrifying roar, and when I looked up, a <em>huge </em>red dragon emerged from the pit and <em>swallowed the Gronkle above it whole!</em><br/>       "What is that?"<br/>       The dragon then moved up higher, to where Hiccup and Toothless were, sniffed the platform, and roared.<br/>       "Hiccup, run!"<br/>       With that, Amethyst and I took off into the sky, quickly followed by Hiccup and Toothless. The dragon lunged at Amethyst and I, but caught a Zippleback instead. Amethyst flew next to Toothless and the four of us took off.</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We landed on the beach outside of the docks, finally back on Berk. I'd been talking to Hiccup the whole way home, discussing what we'd just seen.<br/>       "... No, no, it totally makes sense! It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers... and that's their queen. It controls them."<br/>       I got off of Amethyst and started towards the Village.<br/>       "Let's find your dad."<br/>       Hiccup grabbed my arm to stop me.<br/>       "No, no! Not yet. They'll... kill Toothless. They'll kill Amethyst."<br/>       I looked over at my newly found Night Fury, who was 'talking' with Toothless. I giggled as they began wrestling, then turned my attention back to Hiccup, who looked dead serious.<br/>       "Reign, we have to think this through carefully."<br/>       I eyed him, incredulous.<br/>       "Hiccup, we've just found the dragons' nest! The thing we've been after since the Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret?"<br/>       "Yes."<br/>       I was a bit taken aback, but I gave in, thinking of Amethyst.<br/>       "Okay. Then what do we do?"<br/>       "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out, I swear."<br/>       "Okay. Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I think Amethyst should stay with Toothless."<br/>       He nodded. I punched his arm.<br/>       "That's for kidnapping me," I hissed, “and for being an awful friend this past week!”<br/>       Hiccup looked at Toothless, but he was too preoccupied with Amethyst.<br/>       I grabbed him by the arm, and he braced for another hit.<br/>       Instead, I kissed his cheek.<br/>       "That's for everything else."</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today was the day. Hiccup was going to have to kill a dragon. I'm sure we were both as nervous as it gets. Neither of us could eat this morning, and most of our time spent together was in an awkward, heavy silence. Either that, or we were hugging each other. I didn't think I would need any one person's presence so much, until Hiccup ran off to Gobber's.<br/>       "Stay here," he'd said. "I'll be right back."<br/>       That's why I was standing here, all alone, until Astrid came up to me.<br/>       "Are you alright?" She asked. "You look sick."<br/>       I nodded.                                                      <br/>       "You wouldn't understand why I'm upset. Not in a million years."<br/>       I could tell she was about to retort, when Hiccup came back into the barn. He stopped a minute to look at Astrid and I, then walked over to me.<br/>       "Reign, I just wanted to thank you. You were the first person to be nice to me, you were my first friend, you saw the potential in me, and you never gave up. I'm so sorry for how I treated you, what with pushing you aside to hang out with the others and all. I just wanted to give you this to remind both of us that you're never alone, and hopefully, I won't be either."<br/>       Hiccup pulled out a wooden box and handed it to me. I warily took it, and, hands shaking, I pulled the top off. What was inside took my breath away. There, resting among velvet, was a necklace, made of fine silver. The chain was small and thin. The actual pendant was gorgeous. It was a circular shape with flowers, leaves, and butterflies carved into it. I flipped it over, and there, on the back, was my name, carved into the delicate piece of jewelry.<br/>       "Oh, Hiccup," I sighed. "It's beautiful."<br/>       "Thanks. I asked Gobber if he could make this for you. I drew it and came up with the designs myself, and he said silver would look best with the apparel you wear."<br/>       Before he could say anything else, I hugged him close. He seemed to pause for a second, but then he gave in, squeezing me tight.<br/>       "I'm so sorry, Reign, for everything I've done to you."<br/>       I pushed back and looked into his eyes.<br/>       "I forgive you."<br/>       His gaze shifted down to the necklace, prompting him to remove it from the box.<br/>       "Uh, may I?"<br/>       "Oh, sure."<br/>       I didn't have long hair, so there was nothing to lift. I turned and he placed the delicate chain around my neck. He then linked the clasp, and it fell against my chest. The length was perfect. It was short enough that it wouldn't get in my way, but long enough that I could look down and smile at it with ease.<br/>       "It's also something to remember me by, in case, you know..."<br/>       "Gods, Hiccup," I sighed. "Don't talk like that!"<br/>       "I'm just saying..."<br/>       "And I'm just saying that you're going to live. Trust me on that."<br/>       Our conversation was interrupted by the loud noise of horns sounding. We both sighed, knowing the hour was upon us. Hiccup moved to leave, but I grabbed his hand, stopping him.<br/>       "I'm coming with you."<br/>       He didn't protest. Instead, he nodded, and we left that barn, together.<br/>       We'd forgotten that Astrid had been standing there the whole time.</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well, I can show my face in public again."<br/>       Chief Stoick's words had an echo effect to them from where Hiccup and I were standing. Our hands were still intertwined, nerves and emotions spiraling out of control. In the other hand, Hiccup held the helmet his father had made for him. Supposedly, it was made from half of his mother's breast plate.<br/>       Gross.                                       <br/>       My other hand was fiddling with the necklace. I'd formed a new habit, all within the span of five minutes. Most people bite their nails or eat when they're nervous, but I play with a necklace given to me by my closest friend.<br/>       "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well... Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training... I would've tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he's gone mad!"<br/>       The crowd laughed, but both Hiccup and I were too afraid to enjoy this joke.<br/>       "But here we are, and no one's more surprised, or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking! Today, he becomes one of us!"<br/>       The crowd went wild. There were cheers and applause echoing off of every wall. I could feel Hiccup's hand shaking in mine, so I squeezed it. He squeezed back and then let go.<br/>       "Be careful with that dragon," I whispered.<br/>       "It's not the dragon I'm worried about."<br/>       We both looked to see Chief Stoick taking his seat.<br/>       "What are you going to do?" Worry was plaguing my system.<br/>       "Put an end to this."<br/>       I could feel tears forming in the back of my eyes.<br/>       "Hiccup..." I managed to choke out.<br/>       "I have to try."<br/>       He grabbed my shoulders and looked me straight in my tearing eyes.<br/>       "Reign, if something goes wrong... just make sure they don't find Toothless and Amethyst."<br/>       "I-I will, Just promise me nothing will go wrong."<br/>       The look in his eyes told me everything: he couldn't. Gobber approached and motioned for Hiccup to follow. He hugged me close to his chest, then walked out into the open. The gate shut behind him, but I clung to the bars like a desperate prisoner. Hiccup looked around at everyone, back at me, and then the door opened.<br/>       <em>Let the games begin...</em></p>
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<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hiccup had chosen a dagger and a shield as his weapon. People in the stands questioned it a bit, but I understood where he was going with this. I actually had hope for a second, but it was shattered when the Monstrous Nightmare escaped from its cage. The doors were coated in molten saliva, and it had already lit itself. It flew around the arena, lighting a few things on fire, then turned off its self-flame. That's when it set eyes on Hiccup. Their gazes locked, and the creature slowly climbed down from its place above him. Hiccup backed up as the dragon inched closer to him, but I knew he wasn't about to give up. Once the dragon got really close to Hiccup, he dropped his dagger and shield onto the ground, holding out his hands.<br/>       "It's okay, it's okay," Hiccup whispered to the Nightmare.<br/>       I looked at the dragon and noticed its gaze on Hiccup's helmet. He must have noticed, too, because a moment later, he took it off and threw it to the ground.<br/>       "I'm not one of them."<br/>       Gasps and murmurs arose from the crowd, and Chief Stoick stood.<br/>       <em>Uh oh...</em><br/>       "Stop the fight!" He ordered.<br/>       "No!" Hiccup called back. "I need you to see this."<br/>       The crowd was beginning to get restless. Hiccup looked back at me, as if asking what to do. I nodded my head, assuring him that he was doing the right thing. Chief Stoick noticed where Hiccup was looking and shot me a glare full of daggers. I shrugged cheekily and focused back on Hiccup.<br/>       "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them.<br/>       "<strong><em>I said stop the fight!</em></strong>"<br/>       With that, the Monstrous Nightmare lost control. It once again began rampaging, and it had its gaze set on Hiccup.<br/>       "Hiccup!" I cried.<br/>       I searched around for a way to open the gate, and my eyes rested on an ax that had been left on the ground. I was about to question it, when I saw Astrid dart away.<br/>        <em>You sly girl, Astrid.</em><br/>       I wedged the ax under the gate and managed to lift it up enough for me to fit through. I snatched up the ax and ran to Hiccup's side. Just then, the Nightmare shot out another stream of fire, and both Hiccup and I screamed. We dove in separate directions and hid.<br/>       "Out of my way!" I heard Stoick yell.<br/>       Another stream of fire shot out, just missing Hiccup’s head. Panic and fear began to rise in me, when I heard a familiar whooshing noise and a person's cry.<br/>       "Night Furies! Get down!"</p>
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<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 27</h2></a>
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    <p>I couldn't see anything. There was so much dust and fire, all I could do was hear.<br/>       "Reign?"<br/>       Hiccup was a foot away from me. I jumped, not expecting that, but quieted myself as he grabbed my hand, leading me away from the fight. All I could hear was roaring and fire blasts coming from the three dragons. My fears didn't subside at all, but it was nice having Hiccup’s comforting hand in my shaking one. Of course, I knew he was nervous too.<br/>       "This way!"<br/>       We looked over to see Chief Stoick standing outside of the gate, waiting for us to escape. Hiccup and I looked back at the scene, then ran towards the opening. We were just about to escape until Amethyst came flying out of the dust, slamming against the lever that kept the gate open. It slammed shut, locking us in. Toothless emerged from the dust and planted himself in front of Hiccup and I. As soon as Amethyst recovered from the blow, she did the same thing.<br/>       "Alright, Toothless, go. Get Reign and Amethyst out of here," Hiccup ordered.<br/>       "What? And leave you behind? There’s way I’m doing that!"<br/>       Neither of us had time for an argument, because at that very moment, Vikings began pouring out from the stands and into the ring.<br/>       "Go!" Hiccup ordered us.<br/>       "Take it alive!" A Viking shouted.<br/>       I looked over to see Chief Stoick grabbing an ax and charging at our Night Furies.<br/>       "Stoick, no!" I cried, becoming more and more desperate by the second.<br/>       "Dad! No! He won't hurt you!"<br/>       The other Vikings began to surround and attack the dragons, but the tossed them aside like rag dolls. Toothless made his way over to Stoick while Amethyst kept defending us.<br/>       "No, don't! You're only making it worse!" Hiccup cried out.<br/>       Stoick raised his hammer and raced towards Toothless, not listening to us. Too many people got the jump on Amethyst, and they were able to pin her down, rendering her useless.<br/>       "Amethyst! No!"<br/>       I let go of Hiccup's hand and began trying to pry people away from her.<br/>       "Stop! Please!" I cried. "She was just protecting us!"<br/>       Someone flung me to the ground and I knew the fight was useless. I lifted my head, only to see Toothless pinning Chief Stoick to the ground. He inhaled, clearly ready to fire a plasma blast, and I covered my eyes, not wanting to watch.<br/>       "No!"<br/>       The hissing stopped, and when I pried my fingers away, Toothless was looking at Hiccup with a childlike innocence. It made me smile a little, but it soon faded when the Vikings took advantage of the moment. They all began pinning Toothless to the ground, and for once, the dragon didn't put up a fight. I held Hiccup back from charging in, shaking my head.<br/>       "The fight is useless. They've won."<br/>       I hugged him closer than I ever had.<br/>       We'd just lost a battle, and the possible last two Night Furies on Earth.</p>
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<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 28</h2></a>
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    <p>Stoick shoved Hiccup into a darkened hall, and I followed closely behind. I'd never seen Stoick this steamed in his life. He slammed the door behind me, but he shut it so hard that the door swung back open a little bit. I walked over and helped Hiccup to his feet as Stoick paced against the background of tapestries.<br/>       "I should have known. I should have seen the signs..."<br/>       "Dad," Hiccup sighed.<br/>       "We had a deal!"<br/>       He paused, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back. He snorted and continued pacing.<br/>       "I know we did... but that was before... ugh, it's all so messed up!"<br/>       "So everything in the ring… a trick, a lie?"<br/>       He stomped toward Hiccup and I, and I defended him, in case Stoick decided to strike.<br/>       "Stoick, don't! Please!" I begged.<br/>       "I screwed up. I should have told you before now. Take this out on me, be mad at me, but please, don't hurt Toothless and Amethyst."<br/>       "The dragons? That's what you're worried about? Not the people you almost killed?"<br/>       "They were just protecting us!" I cried. "They're not dangerous!"<br/>       "They've killed hundreds of us."<br/>       "And we've killed <em>thousands </em>of them!" Hiccup and I yelled at the same time.<br/>       "They defend themselves, that's all," Hiccup continued. "They raid us because they have to. They don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves."<br/>       "There's something else on their island... it's a dragon like-"<br/>       "Their island?"<br/>       "Oh, shoot," I murmured.<br/>       "So you two have been to the nest."<br/>       "Did I say nest?" I stammered.<br/>       "How did you find it?"<br/>       "No... We didn't. Toothless did. Only a dragon can find the island. That's where I found Amethyst. She was the Night Fury who brought me here."<br/>       Chief Stoick paused, then began to walk out the door.<br/>       "Oh no, no, dad, no!" Hiccup cried, running after his dad.<br/>       "Chief, it's not what you think. You don't know what you're going up against. It's like nothing you've ever seen."<br/>       Hiccup grabbed his father's arm, but it had no effect.<br/>       "Dad, please. I promise you that you can't win this one!"<br/>       Stoick didn’t even react.<br/>       "No, dad, no! For once in your life, would you please listen to me?"<br/>       Stoick threw Hiccup off of him, sending him to the floor. Hiccup stared back at him, stunned, as I raced over to make sure that he was okay.<br/>       "You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking."<br/>       He paused, getting choked up.<br/>       "You're not my son."</p>
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<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 29</h2></a>
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    <p>I chased after Chief Stoick, hurt and desperate.<br/>       "Please, Chief Stoick!" I cried. "Don't do this! It's my fault. I'm the one who introduced Hiccup to not killing dragons, and..."<br/>       "Reign, do you really want to take the heat for this right now? I have full right to exile you for treason!"<br/>       I stumbled back and raced back into the hall. Hiccup was standing there, and he welcomed me into his arms.        <br/>       "Y-you're dad j-just--"I sobbed out.<br/>       I could feel him stroking my hair.<br/>       "Shh, I heard. Don't worry, Reign. We're going to fix all of this."<br/>       "How? How can we do that? We can't get anywhere now! All the ships will be gone, and our dragons are on them!"<br/>              "I-I don't know. But we may as well go watch the ships leave."<br/>       He grabbed my hand and forced me to follow him.<br/> <br/>       We watched them leave, feeling powerless. I was still spooked and crying, and Hiccup was hugging me close to his chest. I looked over only to meet eyes with Chief Stoick, looking at us from the boat. I quickly turned away, not wanting to watch our dragons leave. The ships finally faded from sight. I sniffled, trying to compose myself, and spoke.<br/>       "It's a mess."<br/>       Hiccup didn't respond.<br/>       "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything. Your father, your tribe, your best friend," I sighed.<br/>       "Thank you for summing that up, Reign."<br/>       He sighed, then continued.<br/>       "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? It would have been better for everyone."<br/>       "Yep… the others would have done it. So why can't we? Why didn't <em>you</em>?"<br/>       He didn't say anything, but I wanted to know. I wanted to know if he saw what I saw in dragons.<br/>       "Why didn't you?"<br/>       "I don't know. I couldn't."<br/>       "That's not an answer."<br/>       "Why is this so important to you? You already love dragons! What more do you need?"<br/>       "I want to remember what you say, right here, and right now."<br/>       "Oh, for the love of- I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"<br/>       "You said <em>wouldn't </em>that time," I smirked.<br/>       "Whatever! I wouldn't! Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."<br/>       I waited, taking in what he had said, and then found a good comeback.<br/>       "You’re the first to ride one, though."<br/>       Hiccup blinked at me. I composed myself, ready to try to get Toothless and Amethyst back.<br/>       "So..."<br/>       "...I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him and saw myself."<br/>       I turned and looked at the vast, open sea.<br/>       "I bet they're really frightened now," I mumbled. "What are you going to do?"<br/>       "…probably something stupid."<br/>       I turned back to him and smiled.<br/>       "Good. But we've both already done that."<br/>       "Then something crazy," he smirked.<br/>       "That's more like it."</p>
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<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 30</h2></a>
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    <p>I helped Hiccup lift up the beam on the Monstrous Nightmare cage.<br/>       "If you two are planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronkle," Fishlegs stated coldly, arms crossed.<br/>       We both turned to see everyone with their arms crossed. They all seemed hostile and uncertain. I was hoping they'd warm up to this plan. Tuffnut stepped forward.<br/>       "You two were wise to seek help from the world's deadliest weapon. It's me."<br/>       "Uh..." Hiccup stammered as I pushed Tuffnut away from Hiccup's face.<br/>       "I love this plan," Snotlout stated, before we'd even said anything.<br/>       "I didn't..."<br/>       "You're crazy," Ruffnut stated, stepping forward. She then got really close to his face. "I like it."<br/>       I slapped Ruffnut's arm and she backed off, rejoining the others.<br/>       "So? What's the plan?" Astrid asked, intrigued.<br/>       We both stepped away from the door. The Monstrous Nightmare came out of its cage, stepping into the ring. I outstretched my hand and the dragon seemed to calm. Snotlout reached for a spear, but with my free hand, I tossed it out of his hand.<br/>       "Uh uh," I corrected.<br/>       I finally got close enough and grabbed one of Snotlout's hands and reached it towards the Nightmare.<br/>       "Wait! What are you doing?"<br/>       "Relax. It's okay... it's okay."<br/>       I looked up at Hiccup, who smiled at me. I smiled back and placed Snotlout's hand between the dragon's nostrils. He stood there for a second, terrified. He then chuckled nervously, and I walked back to where Hiccup was.<br/>       "What are you doing?" Snotlout asked.<br/>       Hiccup pulled out a bundle if rope from a box behind him.<br/>       "You're going to need something to help you hang on."<br/>       Everyone else glanced at each other, then looked up to see all of the dragons out of their cages, staring at them intently.<br/>       "Let's begin," I smirked.</p>
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<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 31</h2></a>
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    <p>"Ruff! Tuff! Stop your yelling. You're scaring it," I ordered.<br/>       The twins looked over at me, confused. I walked over to them and grabbed Ruffnut by her arm. I then guided her arm to one of the Zippleback's heads. I placed her hand between the nostrils and backed away.<br/>       "See? It won't hurt you, as long as you're calm. Now, Tuff, you do the same thing."<br/>       Tuffnut cautiously placed his hand in the same place that his sister had, and I nodded in approval.<br/>       "Huh," Astrid smiled. "Who know Ruffnut and Tuffnut could be calm."<br/>       I laughed and smiled at her. Astrid had chosen the Deadly Nadder. It seemed fitting, considering how similar the two were. They both were athletic and strong, and they both had a short temper.<br/>       "I'll admit, Reign. This is pretty amazing. And who knew that dragons could be so kind."<br/>       "You'd be surprised."                         <br/>       We hugged, something we hadn't done in a while. It was sincere, just like true sisters. I was cut off by someone tapping my shoulder. I turned to see Hiccup standing there, smiling.<br/>       "Is it time to go?" I asked.<br/>       He nodded, and I turned to face the general group.<br/>       "Alright, here's the plan. That queen dragon is huge and relentless, so be careful," I ordered them. "You'll all ride on the dragons that you have claimed ownership of. Fishlegs was with the Gronkle, Snotlout with the Nightmare, Ruff and Tuff with the Zippleback. Hiccup and I will be riding with Astrid on the Nadder. When we get there, <em>don't do anything stupid!</em> Now, let's go!"<br/>       "Yeah!"<br/>       Astrid climbed up onto the Nadder, and Hiccup followed. He then offered his hand and helped me up. I laced my arms around his waist as Astrid took off into the sky.<br/> <br/>       "There!" I shouted.<br/>       The island came into view, though it wasn't hard to spot. Fire was spewing from all angles, and I could hear Vikings screaming and yelling. Shots were being fired all over the place, and people were falling faster and faster.<br/>       "Astrid, let's go towards that dragon!" I shouted. "Everyone else, try and distract it!"<br/>       Astrid dove in and I gave her more orders.<br/>       "Take us to the boats. We're getting our dragons back."</p>
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<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 32</h2></a>
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    <p>The boats… oh, gods, the boats. They were all on fire. Hiccup and I knew we only had a limited amount of time to free our dragons. Otherwise the four of us would burn. Astrid had dropped Hiccup down to be with Toothless first, and then it was my turn. I could tell that Astrid wanted to say something to me, but I shook my head and she lowered the Nadder.<br/>       "No time for speeches, Astrid. I have to save Amethyst."<br/>       She nodded and I climbed onto the burning boat. Astrid flew away to help out the others while I raced to Amethyst. She perked up her head and looked so happy to see me. Then again, my vision was blurred from all of the smoke, so she may have looked mad at me. I coughed and sputtered, eyes stinging, as I yanked on the chains. Slowly, they began snapping, one by one. All I had to do was get rid of the wooden thing. I pulled and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. I looked around for something to cut it with, and then it hit me. There were flames all around! I just had to light the wood on fire so it would burn away, and then put it out in time so it wouldn't burn Amethyst.<br/>       "Okay, girl," I whispered to her. "Let's get you out of there."<br/>        I helped her slowly inch her way closer to the flames. Her brain quickly realized what I was doing, however, and she began to protest. Amethyst began yanking on my arms and trying to get away.<br/>        "No, no. C'mon Amethyst. You've got to work with me here."<br/>            There was a protestant sigh, but she gave in and let me light the wood on fire. In only a matter of seconds, the fire devoured the wood, and then moved to Amethyst. I didn't let it take her, though, because I'd been smart enough to put us near the water. I dipped my arms down and began splashing water on her. The flames sizzled and died down, finally, and I climbed on her back.<br/>       "Alright, girl. Let's go-"<br/>       There was a snapping noise, and when I looked over, Hiccup and Toothless' boat had collapsed.<br/>       And I couldn't find them anywhere.<br/>       "Hiccup!" I cried. "Toothless!"<br/>        Now I was torn. I could either go and help the others, or get Hiccup and Toothless out from the water. I looked back and forth between the two, but my mind was made up for me when Stoick emerged from the water with Hiccup, and then he dove back down.<br/>      "Hiccup!" I called down     <br/>      He looked up at the sound of my voice.<br/>      "Where's Toothless?"<br/>       He pointed to the water. As if he had seen Hiccup point, at that moment Toothless and Chief Stoick emerged from the water. Toothless sat on the shore for a moment, and then he sat up, ready for Hiccup to climb on. Hiccup did just that, and he and Toothless made their way up to where I was. I smiled at him and we flew off towards the others.<br/> <br/>     "Miss us?" I called to the others.<br/>       They looked over, saw Hiccup and I on our Night Furies, and they all broke out into wide grins.<br/>       "They're up!" Astrid cried, looking relieved.<br/>       I turned to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were punching each other.<br/>       "Hey! You two! Get Snotlout out of there!"<br/>       "I'm on it," they both called.<br/>       I turned around at an unfortunate time. I met eyes with the large dragon, and it began inhaling. Amethyst flapped her wings as hard as she could, but all that happened was us getting closer to the large dragon's mouth. Everyone looked in shock in horror as I fell off of Amethyst. I closed my eyes, and felt myself land on something. I looked up to see Hiccup smiling down at me. I then looked over just in time to see Amethyst fall into the mouth of the large dragon, and the dragon snap its jaw shut.</p>
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<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 33</h2></a>
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    <p>"Did you get her?" Hiccup asked Toothless.<br/>       I saw Toothless' smiling face look down at me, but I couldn't smile back. My dragon had just been eaten! How on Earth could I be happy? She was one of the last Night Furies!<br/>       And it's not like she would come flying out any second. I had heard the bones snap, and when I looked over, I saw blood crusting over on its mouth. Tears bit at my eyes as Hiccup helped me up onto Toothless. I hugged him close and cried into his back. I couldn't focus on the fight. All I could do was cry. Knowing I was weak, Hiccup dropped me off on the ground near the others. I ran over to Astrid and cried into her shoulder, and she hugged me close. My tears fell faster than raindrops as my head began to hurt.<br/>       "Reign, look."<br/>       I forced myself to look up at what Astrid was pointing out. All I could see was Hiccup and Toothless flying higher in the air, chased by the larger dragon. They took off into the clouds and disappeared into the dense cover. I couldn't see any traces of them. The only confirmation I had that they were still alive was the colorful bursts lighting up the dense fog.<br/>       "How is this supposed to make me feel better?" I hissed at Astrid.<br/>       "I guess you didn't hear him."<br/>       "What do you mean?"<br/>       "Before he flew off, Hiccup yelled, 'this is for Amethyst!"<br/>       I gasped and looked up at where the fight was taking place. <br/>       "Thanks, Hiccup," I sighed.<br/>       I was still grieving over the loss of my Night Fury, but I couldn't help feeling hope rising in my chest, especially when the large dragon began falling through the clouds, Hiccup and Toothless hovering not far behind. Its mouth was aflame, and I could tell it was burning from the inside out. Hiccup and Toothless must have shot a blast into the beast's mouth. <br/>       They must not be fireproof on the inside. Wonder how he learned that.<br/>       When I looked back up, I realized Hiccup and Toothless had begun to fall. They got closer, and I noticed that Toothless was missing one of his tail fins. <br/>       <em>Without its wings, it can't fly.</em><br/>       "No!" I cried.<br/>       They fell faster and faster towards the flaming dragon. I thought things couldn't get more horrifying, when Hiccup fell from Toothless' back.<br/>       "No, no, no, no! Hiccup!"<br/>       More tears fell down my face as they fell into the flames and the dragon crashed to the ground. Everyone ducked as gravel and dust flew in all directions. As soon as the dust had settled, I raced to the dead dragon body. Chief Stoick appeared beside me, and I raced closer to the body.<br/>       "Hiccup? Toothless? C'mon, I know you're okay!"<br/>       That's when my eyes rested on it. It felt like a stab to the chest once I took in what it was. I raced over and slumped next to it, crying in disbelief.<br/>       It was the motionless body of Toothless.</p>
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<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 34</h2></a>
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    <p>I finally looked up, looking through my tears.<br/>       "Hiccup," I choked out.<br/>       Chief Stoick slumped down next to me, looking at the same thing. He remained on his knees, while I had curled up into a fetal position.<br/>       "Oh, son," Stoick whispered. "I did this."<br/>       I'd cried so much today, and lost even more.<br/>       My dragon, Amethyst, who rescued me from my home, and I discovered years later. Amethyst, who was possibly one of the last Night Furies on Earth, with her forgiving, purple eyes. I hadn't even gotten to know her, or train her, and she was dead.<br/>       Toothless. The Night Fury that changed my world. I had been afraid of the unknown, but he'd shown me what I couldn't find. He gave me another chance, and helped me find Amethyst. He was so adorable and playful, and now I wouldn't ever get to know him.<br/>       And Hiccup. Oh gods, Hiccup. I didn't want to think about it, but I did. When I'd met him, he was an awkward spaz who didn't listen and destroyed things. But soon, he'd become a great friend to have, even though the others didn't approve. And soon, I'd fallen in love with him. Even when he'd shut me out, I'd still loved him. We'd been through thick and thin together.<br/>       And now he'd never know how I feel.<br/>       I rested my hand on the necklace, and something amazing happened. Toothless began to stir. He rolled his head over and looked Stoick in the eye. <br/>       "I'm so sorry," Stoick apologized.<br/>       I felt happier now that Toothless was alive. I slowly inched my way over to him, and hugged the dragon. Toothless emitted an approving growl, and I smiled a little. I then pushed away and looked Toothless in the eyes.<br/>       "Where's Hiccup?"<br/>       Toothless shifted positions, unfolded his wings, and there, safely cocooned in that little cradle, was Hiccup.<br/>       "Hiccup..." <br/>       I leaned down and placed my ear on his chest. Hope and relief flooded through me. He had a heartbeat. I picked up his body in my arms and hugged him closer.<br/>       "He's alive," I gasped out. I then met eyes with Toothless. "You brought him back alive!"<br/>       I burst into relieved tears this time, so happy that they were both alive. The crowd began to cheer, followed by a stream of dragons floating down. Chief Stoick came over and smiled at Toothless.<br/>       "Thank you, for saving my son."<br/>       Gobber came closer and cringed.<br/>       "Well, most of him."<br/>       I followed Gobber's gaze and almost vomited.<br/>       "E-ew..."</p>
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<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 35</h2></a>
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    <p>A week. That's how long Hiccup was asleep. A whole stinking week.<br/>        And it moved so slowly!<br/>       The first few days, I just sat on a chair in Hiccup's room. Toothless kept me company, and Chief Stoick brought me meals, but other than that, I just sat writing in my journal alone.<br/>       The next two days I just popped in for visits. I would check up every hour, but other than that, I stayed away.        <br/>       The final day, I didn't go at all, but I wish I had.<br/>       That was the day that Hiccup had woken up. Luckily, I made it to see him.<br/>       There had been a lot of noise, so I'd decided to check out the source of the noise. I walked out of the barn and began walking. I got closer to Hiccup's house, and I noticed there was a large crowd surrounding it.<br/>       That only meant one thing: Hiccup was awake.<br/>       I took off at a sprinting speed to get to his place. I pushed and elbowed through everyone to get to him, and when I emerged from the crowd, he broke into a wide grin.<br/>       "Reign," he smiled.<br/>       "Hiccup!"<br/>       I hugged him close to my chest for a second, then let go. Once I did, Hiccup spoke up.<br/>       "Uh, look, I just wanted to say sorry for what happened to Amethyst. I understand how hard it must have been."<br/>       "Oh, it's fine. I'm just a little sad that I haven't found a dragon as special as her."<br/>       "Well, if you want, maybe you could... you know... ride with T-Toothless and I... if you want."<br/>       "Oh my gods! Yes, yes! I'd love to!"</p>
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<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 36</h2></a>
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    <p>"So, about that..."<br/>        I pointed down to his left foot. It was once metal and flesh, but the large dragon, now named the Red Death, had gotten it, so it had been replaced. Now, it was made of a silvery metal and wood. I could tell Hiccup was still getting used to it because he was using Toothless as support.<br/>        "Oh, right. What do you think?"<br/>        "It's really cool, Hiccup. It looks really good, too. Gobber did a great job with it."<br/>        "Thanks. And speaking of this leg and Amethyst and all of that, I'm sorry I missed so much. I couldn't help that I was out for that long, but-"<br/>        I punched him in the arm, hard. He recoiled and grabbed where I had punched.<br/>        "That's for scaring me! I thought you were dead!" I cried.<br/>        "What, is it always going to be this way? 'Cause I..."<br/>        I just went for it. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pressed my lips against his. At first, he flinched and seemed shocked, but he soon kissed back. Only a few seconds after he did, I broke away. He smiled a goofy smile at me and I laughed.<br/>        "... could get used to it."<br/>        I laughed again. I guess now he knew, and he liked me back. Riding on Toothless with him would be less awkward now.<br/>        As if hearing my thoughts, Gobber then approached with a new saddle for riding on Toothless, along with rigging to accommodate for his leg and a new tail attachment for Toothless.<br/>        "I didn't know you'd be asking Reign to ride with you, so I'll have to make another saddle for her. It may take a while, though."<br/>        "It's fine, Gobber," I smiled.<br/>        Suddenly, Toothless began pouncing on the the crowd, crushing a couple people under his weight on accident.<br/>        "Night Fury!" Someone called. "Get down!"<br/>        Toothless spotted the new tail with excitement in his eyes, tongue wagging like a dog. People groaned and grumbled as Hiccup and I exchanged a sheepish smile</p>
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<a name="section0038"><h2>38. Epilogue</h2></a>
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    <p>Hiccup snapped his metal foot into the modified stirrup as I laced my arms around his waist. I adjusted myself on my new saddle and Toothless spread his wings, ready to fly. I glanced over at Astrid and her Nadder, who was going to fly with us.<br/>       "You ready?" Hiccup asked Toothless, who snorted happily.<br/>       "<em>You </em>ready?" Hiccup turned to look at me.<br/>       "Yup. Let's do this!"<br/>       We took off into the sky and soared over Berk. I could feel the silver necklace Hiccup had given me thumping against my chest.<br/> <br/>       This... is Berk. It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. It's been a month since we'd defeated the Red Death, and I'd lost my Night Fury, Amethyst. She'd been the dragon that took me from my home island when I was seven, but I couldn't be happier. If I hadn't been taken from home, I'd never have come to Berk, I'd never have met my friends, and I never would have found people like me. People who like dragons.<br/>       As for my housing situation, Astrid's family adopted me. I now had both a middle and a last name: Reign Amethyst Hofferson.<br/>       Everyone was slowly adjusting to dragons being a part of their lives. They'd actually proven to be very useful for everyday tasks.<br/>       Hiccup, Astrid, and I landed on a cliff, where we were joined by Ruffnut and Tuffnut on their Zippleback, Snotlout on his Nightmare, and Fishlegs on his Gronkle. The sun was just setting, making the whole world glow an orange-red. I nuzzled my chin into Hiccup's shoulder, prompting him to kiss my cheek. I removed one of my arms and petted Toothless.<br/>       One of the only upsides of Berk is the pets. While other places have ponies or parrots, we have...<br/>       ...dragons.</p>
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